GARY MAN GETS 16 YEARS IN DRUG DEALING CASE
A Gary man was recently sentenced to 16 years in a drug dealing case, according to a release.
Derek “Dirt” Cast, 48, pleaded guilty in April in the U.S. District Court in Hammond to distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, filings show. After prison, he will serve five years on supervised release.
“On October 2, 2025, the defendant sold just under a pound of methamphetamine to law enforcement. A few weeks later, on October 28, and November 5, 2025, he sold law enforcement 4 semi-automatic pistols and 2 rifles and demonstrated how to use one of the rifles as a fully automatic firearm. He was immediately arrested and law enforcement recovered a firearm from his person,” U.S. Attorney Adam Mildred wrote in a release.
In court filings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Padula, the case’s federal prosecutor, called his actions “shockingly egregious.”
Defense lawyer Justin Camper wrote that his client took responsibility.
The “very conduct he believed would provide for his family instead deprived them of his presence, his guidance, and his ability to be a father,” he wrote in court filings.
MAN CONVICTED ON FEDERAL GUN CHARGE
A man was recently convicted on a federal gun charge, documents show.
Israel Castro, 37, of Mexico, pleaded guilty in January in the U.S. District Court in Hammond to possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, filings show.
He was sentenced July 23 to two years in prison and one year on supervised release.
He has an active immigration detainer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Mukoski wrote in court filings.
East Chicago police responded just before 9 a.m. Feb. 2, 2025, after a home and parked car were hit by gunfire on Cardinal Drive.
“A witness identified Israel Castro as the shooter. Law enforcement located the van and detained Castro, who admitted to having a weapon inside the van,” U.S. Attorney Adam Mildred said in a release.
Defense lawyer Roxanne Mendez Johnson wrote in court filings that Castro had a rough upbringing and started using “alcohol and methamphetamine” around age 11 “to self-medicate.”
HAMMOND MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD MOLESTING
A Hammond man is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting an underage teen girl, an affidavit states.
Adrik Mora, 32, is charged with three counts of child molesting.
He is in custody, held without bail.
A Hammond detective responded to a home on July 22 for a reported child molestation or rape.
The victim’s mother told police the child confided in a relative that Mora had sex with her. Afterwards, he scrolled on his phone “as if nothing happened,” charges state.
He left to run errands before the mother returned from work. After he returned, the mother confronted him.
“I did it,” he told the mother.
The woman said her memory “blacked out” until they were outside. He refused to go with her to the police station. She hit him when he asked if she would really call the police, documents allege.
He left. The mother called 911, then took her daughter to the hospital, an affidavit states.
“I’m turning myself in after this 300 (dollars) of coke. I will die n deserve everything coming to me bye,” he later texted the mother.
Police pulled him over in the McDonald’s parking lot near Calumet Avenue and Chicago Street.
The mother told police later that she was working, helping a friend at their Lake Station used auto lot, when her relative pulled up. The relative said the girl called her, confiding that Mora allegedly raped her.
The affidavit states the mother told police the girl said Mora began raping her around the time the mother was hospitalized for a month for a serious medical condition. The woman told police that was in February 2025, charges state.
“I’m guilty,” Mora later told police in an interview.
He claimed he had sex with the girl twice in April 2026 and the day of his arrest, charges show. The girl was the “aggressive one pursuing him,” he said, according to the affidavit.
Mora consented to a DNA swab during the police interview, records show.
ST. JOHN MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE
A St. John man is facing rape charges.
Sergio Zepeda-Cervantes, 32, was charged earlier this month with two counts of rape, one count of criminal confinement, domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, strangulation, domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, and misdemeanor domestic battery.
He posted a $10,000 cash bond on July 20, filings show.
The victim told police that Zepeda-Cervantes got jealous after she texted another male at a party where they had been drinking.
After they returned to his parents’ home, he allegedly choked her until she passed out. When she woke up, she was not wearing pants, an affidavit alleges.
“Are you ok [sic] did I hurt you,” he texted her days later, according to court documents.
His next hearing is Sept. 17.